Question for our dear friend Tuffinski?! Email her at TuffyLuv@collegecandy.com and just maybs, just maybs, get a response.

Dear Tuffy Love,

I have a major crush on my RA. I know it’s wrong and the chances of something happening are almost zero, but I can’t seem to get rid of these feelings. He is super hot and funny and sweet and sooo cool. The problem is (other than the fact that he’s my RA) that he’s a senior and I’m only a freshman. I don’t know what to do. I’m torn between acting on my feelings and pretending they don’t exist.

I have a huge fear of rejection and I’m afraid of getting hurt and awkwardness. But it’s come to the point where I want to do something. I want to know if he feels the same way even a little. But I don’t even know how to go about approaching him about it. What if he doesn’t feel the same way? He does seem to give me preferential treatment over the other residents, but that could mean nothing. Help!

-Conflicted Read More »

It’s not always easy to make a college dorm room all your own with the standard res hall-issued furniture you’ve got in there. Sure, you can stack it up all nice and hang some fun pictures on the wall, but sometimes you want something a little different and cool to complete your pad.

Like a fun table, perhaps?

This awesome Bottle Cap Table is easy to make and will score you some major cool points from your friends, neighbors and maybe even your R.A. (as long as you don’t let him see you “collecting” bottle caps in your dry dorm). Plus, actually making the table is a party on its own: “Hey, let’s get a 12-pack of Miller Light. I have a craft project to do!”

What You’ll Need:
- Bottle caps
- Table
- Super glue (if the glue isn’t sticking well with the table, try contact cement)
- Resin (ex. Envirotex Lite)
- Masking Tape
- Aluminum foil
- Duct tape Read More »

"Oh god. I gotta go, guys. Like, really go. #2."

That’s where College Candy comes in. We’re not going to debate whether or not the Theory of Relativity actually exists (a disappointment, I know, but I’m a communications major and stopped taking science classes after Baby Bio fresh year). However, we are here to thoroughly investigate the most widespread college knowledge (no, not rhyming)—the myth.

If you go to college, chances are you’ve eaten at a dining hall. You’ve experienced gourmet menu items such as “liquid mashed potatoes,” “Sahara-dry chicken” and “green jell-o with mysteriously hard parts around the edges.” And as delightful as your dining experience was, chances are you felt the results of that extra serving of corn a short time later as you were flooring it for the communal bathroom. And if you were just lucky enough to have a meal-plan (like I was my freshman year), you got to experience the joy of this routine three times a day. Every day. For a year.

I remember wondering what the hell was wrong with me; I’d never spent so much money on toilet paper and air freshener before in my life. Did college trigger an internal mechanism that doomed me to poop all the time for the rest of my life? “No,” my roommate said, “The dining halls put baby laxatives in the food, duh.”

“OMG, why would they do that to us?!” I demanded of her.

“Because that way people get hungrier faster after they eat and go back for more; it helps the school make more money.” Read More »

So… it’s April of your senior year, and you’re meticulously filling out forms about your sleeping habits (why yes, you do tend to sleep at 2 AM and think 12 PM is ‘early’) and cleanliness habits to send to your future home for the next four years. Or, you’re a college freshman re-applying for housing with your dorm BFF/sorority sister/random classmate from English 101. Come June, you receive that nice envelope or automated email from Residential Life, hoping to get for what you asked for (please no early-bird neat freak!) And in that nice little slot, lies ROOMMATE: NONE. And your address happens to have an S by it.

Yup, you’re in a single. Obviously, a single room isn’t the image most conjure up when thinking about college dorms (and most freshmen aren’t lucky enough to get one), but they’re out there.

Nervous? Excited? Don’t really know what you’re getting into/how you’ll fit all your stuff into a 120 square foot box? Don’t worry; here are the pros and cons of life in a single. Read More »

Yeah, that's right. This cork board makes people want to party.

A dorm isn’t a dorm without the staple brown cork board on the wall. You post reminders of exams, pictures of your friends, phone numbers (of that hottie you just met!), and other important info on your life.

Problem is that the ugly brown cork board is a little bored. I know it doesn’t match the rest of your gorgeous room decor, so here is an easy and creative way to transform that ugly board into an artistic and functional piece of wall decor.

What You’ll Need:
*2 Sets of Cork Tiles: You can find these at Wal-mart, Target, or any office supply store. They usually come in sets of 4. You can make your cork piece as big as you want, but I usually use 8 tiles (so, 2 sets).
*Spray Paint: Use any color you want. The spray paint will be for the background color of your piece.
*Art Paint: Again, choose any colors you want. This paint will add accent colors and design on the cork tiles after they are spray painted. Skip this step if you prefer to have a plain color cork piece!
*Ribbon: Use any color/design you want. Just make sure the color of the ribbon goes well with the paint colors.
*Small paint brushes Read More »

So your dorm room currently sucks. As in, the paint is peeling off the walls, the bed springs squeak every time you turn (and that’s when you’re alone…), and the whole space smells like the house of that notorious old lady with a gazillion cats.

Ok, so we can’t fix those problems (try calling the R.A.), but we can make your room a little bit prettier and a lot bit more comfy! And all for next to nothing.

Your dorm room should be a much cooler home away from home; a safe sanctuary where you can study, play, and relax. A place where people can walk in, tell you how awesome it looks, then lounge on the floor eating cookie dough and talking about the other girls down the hall. And now you can have all that and more with our awesome find in Gonzalez and Smith’s book, Dorm Décor: The Zebra Felt Rug!

Materials:
Zebra rug template (download here)
2 yards (72″ wide) black felt
2 yards (72″ wide) orange felt
4 yards (72″ wide) cream felt
6′ x 2′ piece of 2″ grid pattern paper
Carbon paper and tracing wheel
Pencil
Scissors
Fabric Glue Read More »

See, ladies; I told you this was a good idea.

There’s a great many things to do and places to see in this world of ours.  As humans, our lives are pretty short (and if you party like I do, it’s probably going to be even shorter).  So we have to prioritize!  We have brains for a reason and that reason is…reasoning (well, at least some of us use them for that purpose: see comment about partying above).  Let me be your voice of reason as I show you all the things you should be doing right here, right now.

Because I’m a totally mature and well-adjusted college student, I sometimes play games with my friends that involve saying awkward things at inappropriate times.  We do it for shock value and for the general entertainment of everyone involved (who doesn’t enjoy a good shouting match of “Penis!”?).  Recently, I tried to play a version of this game with my boyfriend while chatting innocently on AIM.  Here’s a basic outline of how it went:

Boyfriend: nap good?
Boyfriend: you got dinner soon right?
Me: if I were to have a threesome with you and one of your friends, it would so be Kenny
Boyfriend:first of all, wtf
Boyfriend:wtf wtf wtf wtf
Me: AHAHAHAAAA

This got me to thinking…about threesomes.  And about how I may have to tone down the randomness around the BF.  But mostly about the sex part.  Why not?  There are so many reasons to invite an extra player into your game (or even a couple extra players…the more the merrier, right?), especially if your boyfriend has hot friends.  Or your friends have some hot friends.  Or that guy opposite you at the bar has some hot friends.  You know, whoever floats your boat. Read More »

There’s a great many things to do and places to see in this world of ours.  As humans, our lives are pretty short (and if you party like I do, it’s probably going to be even shorter).  So we have to prioritize!  We have brains for a reason and that reason is…reasoning (well, at least some of us use them for that purpose: see comment about partying above).  Let me be your voice of reason as I show you all the things you should be doing right here, right now.

We’re always told “less is more.”  I’m sure a couple of you out there are familiar with the concept (it’s certainly true in the case of kissing and the amount of tongue insertion…and someone needs to inform that guy I made out with last night).  Recently, I’ve become more attracted to the concept of having less stuff.  This may be because I moved into a single room in the dorms that’s smaller than my walk-in closet at home, but I’d like to think that maybe something else is influencing me.  Perhaps it’s time for society to downgrade.

Think about how much stuff you really have.  Not just the clothes and the shoes (which, for me, is the bulk of my possessions), but every little thing.  Now think about what among those things you couldn’t live without.  If you think hard enough, it’s probably not a lot.  In fact, I’m betting you could live without 98% of your possessions (excluding the ones that, you know, make you smell better and whatnot).  So why not go for it?  Throw your stuff away!  Or, at the very least, donate it to a charitable cause (even though a bonfire of your former possessions is so much more demonstrative…and fun).  You’ll feel better – I promise.  Read More »

I met Josh* one night in October and thought he was cute. He was tall, had dark hair and eyes, a nice body and dressed REALLY well. (You know boy’s attire can be important, so don’t even deny it.) We met when I was pre-gaming in the dorm, so it wasn’t like I ever knew him when I wasn’t under the influence, and this tends to lead to bad decisions on my part. Very bad decisions.

Post-pre game with the girls (and him) we went out – a frat party, a house party, who really remembers? All I remember is what happened when I got back to the dorm, which I definitely wish I could forget. We ended up having a really drunken emotional talk (while watching Wedding Crashers) and I found out he was a virgin. Was. Until that night. Because all of a sudden, out of nowhere, we were hooking up. And then I swiped his V-Card.

This alone would have been bad enough, but afterwards we were sitting in his bed and he was all “Oh my god, I need to make some calls.” Thinking he was going to grab his phone and tell his roommate he could come back from his sexiling, I moved over to let him get out of bed. Only that wasn’t the call he was making.

He jumped out of his twin extra-long bunk, grabbed his phone and proceeded to call his best friend from home. I know this because this is how the conversation went: Read More »

Well, its that time of year again. Time to say goodbye to friends, your tan, and most importantly, those flip flops, as summer is coming to a close.  Not sure where it went? Either are we. But it’s time to get back into the college groove nonetheless. And well, that’s exactly what this week prepared us (and got us totally excited) for.

- Nothing starts the school year off with a bang like Welcome Week. Take full advantage of this holiday because life doesn’t get much better.

- You won’t wanna be walkin around campus without at least one of these freakin’ cool gadgets

- Yes, you’re going to be so excited to see everyone again, but the repetitive reunions will get old after about 5 minutes into the first frat party.  Spare the “Ohmygods” and “Lets get lunch!”  because lets face it, you probably either don’t even want to…or you won’t remember the next day after 10 cups of jungle juice.

- Wanna get that cute guy to notice you in English class? Do some cheap back-to-school shopping here, but that doesn’t mean to load up on these. Funky is cool, but looking like someone poured ink all over you is not. And whatever you do, keep these to yourself!

- It’s a new year, so that means a new dorm, maybe new roommates and new hall-mates. But you’ll still manage to find your favorite dorm BFFsno matter where you are living.

- Enjoy the drunken late-night pizzas, and the countless warm beers, but be careful because you don’t wanna end up on MTV because of it.

- Be careful when rushing into relationships so quickly. But if you do get a first semester boyfriend, make sure to get some of these to keep him hangin’ around.

- However you decide to live your college life, you better make it one fun-filled exciting time, because it truly is the best four years of your life. And after that, its all downhilll from there. Well, hopefully not, but seriously who wants to be a boring grown up?